Nice Jerk

I have a friend at work. The way he usually interacts with me is with meanness. He doesn't really mean the meanness, but he typically says stuff that's pretty mean. It's the way he is. I don't really listen to it anymore, 'cause sometimes it gets to me. It feels like my friend isn't really friendly, and I don't like that. But some days I can actually have a conversation with him and it's okay. We've gone out for beers, and he's okay. But as a default, he tends to go to the mean place.

Today he came over to my office and showed me that he was wearing a T-shirt from the theatre where I used to work. His wife had gone there a while ago and bought him the T-shirt, which he had asked for, because they knew I had worked there. He proudly displayed it for me today when he first saw me. I smiled.

"I'm kinda nervous about my audition today," I admitted to him. "A lot more nervous than I remember being the last time I had to audition for something."

"That's why I wore the shirt!" he said, beaming.

It was a nice thing to say. It was a nice thing to do. From a guy who can say mean things a lot, it felt even nicer.